Somewhere In My Memory
by Gangsta Videl
Summary: A plane crash threatens to distort everyone's lives, and promises are made, but... Can any one promise save a comatose friend? -Reviews are fun!


Somewhere In My Memory  
  
A/N: x.x;; Don't blame me for this---blame my overactive imagination. And blame... um... my sister o.O ^^ Anyway, I'm tired of "OMG Shuichi getz hurtzerz and Yuki admitz his l0ve!!1!" type stories, so I figured I'd throw this out:  
  
All his life, Ryuichi has been watched over like a child. So when the tables are suddenly turned and Ryuichi becomes the dominant one, can he make the necessaary adjustments?  
  
^__^ Just a warning, though---if you read my LiveJournal, you already know what the coupling is, but if you don't... This is a het story. Without a Mary Sue, thank you... -_- Just a warning.  
  
Warning(s): Het. Non-conventional couple. If you were to read the manga backwards whilst standing on your head, you'd get this.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters vv They belong to Maki Murakami (who reminds me of Rain Mikamura for semi-obvious reasons ]). The title is actually a copyrighted song by... uh... I don't know who, but it was in Home Alone. So yeah ^^;; I don't own it. And I don't own any of the chapter titles---for the sake of my sanity, all of them are (once) popular music singles. This chapter's belongs to to Evanescence. Because I'm worth it. XD  
  
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Chapter One: Where Will You Go?  
  
*****************************************  
  
You're too important for anyone  
  
You play the role of all you want to be  
  
But I, I know who you really are  
  
You're the one who cries when you're alone  
  
*  
  
But where will you go  
  
With no one left to save you from yourself  
  
You can't escape  
  
You can't escape  
  
--- Evanescence, "Where Will You Go?"  
  
*****************************************  
  
Rain and sleet fell from the sky, smashing against the aircraft like it were nothing more than a child's toy. In actuality, however, it was the only plane left in the air. The storm hadn't yet started when they'd taken off, and now all the runways were iced over and closed. The only one left to land was the destination point---Kyoto.  
  
Of all the two hundred and ten passengers on board, only one was becoming increasingly bored (not to mention testy): Noriko Ukai, member of the popular band Nittle Grasper. She and her family (Tetsuya and Saki) had gone away the day after Christmas for a vacation. With New Year's Eve tomorrow, the family had suddenly decided to return home, with no help from the weather at all.  
  
The pilot's voice was suddenly audible over the dull roar of people, oddly surprising through the amount of static blasting over the speakers. Even though his overly nasal voice was enough to drive a relatively sane person crazy, Noriko was glad for the interruption---being hounded by a few dozen fans on a trip with her family was nothing she enjoyed.  
  
"Attention passengers, we will be landing in Kyoto in approximately forty minutes. Weather will not permit a smooth landing, so we suggest you to fasten your seatbelts within ten minutes. For those of you with questions, please contact the stewardesses in the front of the plane. Thank you."  
  
Noriko frowned at the announcement. 'If the weather won't allow for a smooth landing... God, I hate turbulance... '  
  
Tetsuya tapped her arm gently and said something about taking Saki to the bathroom. The violet haired musician nodded and immediately told him to be careful minding turbulance. The older man shook his head and gave her a small smile before replying: "Don't worry---we'll only be gone a minute. What could possibly go wrong?"  
  
"All right... " Noriko said slowly, "but be sure to get back before too long, that storm doesn't look friendly."  
  
Once again, her husband replied with: "Don't worry!" before calmly taking the young girl's hand and leading her to the bathroom. Noriko smiled as the two walked off together---it was nice to see how close they were. Turning around again, she closed her eyes and listened to the loud roar of the engines after fastening her seatbelt. It was seemingly relaxing, considering the thundering of rain and sleet on the metalic craft. Her train of thought (as well as relaxed mood) were shattered suddenly by static and violent shouts from both ends of the plane.  
  
"Attention passengers! Please remain calm---"  
  
The violet-eyed [1] keyboardist winced and tightened the deathgrip she had on her seatbelt. She knew those words well---and they didn't mean anything good.  
  
"---the right wing of the plane has... hit...by.. somet'ing...r-... eat... wing of the... been... -t!"  
  
The more he tried to say, the more static filled the airway. Panic- stricken, Noriko looked out her window and gasped in horror. The right wing (why of all places, had they taken seats behind the wing?) was aflame-- -even moreso, it was torn up quite badly. Had the storm destroyed it? Impossible! (Later inspection revealed that the wing had been faulty to begin with and had somehow missed inspection. That mixed with the storm and a particularly large phone line had been the cause of the damage.)  
  
Noriko clutched at the arm rests in fear as the plane began shaking. Closing her eyes tightly, she tried to drown out the sounds of screams, static, storm, and the metallic crunch of the plane smashing into trees. Rational thought was lost---the only thing she could do was pray to God that Testsuya and Saki were safe.  
  
'Oh God, I don't want to die, please... !'  
  
Tears fell down Noriko's face as she gripped the arm rests until her knuckles were white---why now? Why was this happening now?  
  
More screams---louder, now, and the smell of fire was reaching her. She could hear stewardesses yelling for people to calm down, but what use was it---they were going to die. They were all going to die... so why be calm?  
  
Another loud crash, and that's when Noriko heard a man yelling, "The left wing's on fire! The left wing, it's on fire!" His voice was strained, desperate to be heard over the thundering storm outside and the panic inside. The lights flicked on and off, and glass shattered. Noriko turned to try and open her window before it could implode, only to have it do so.  
  
She screamed and fell back in her seat, the belt digging into her shoulder as it locked in place [2]. Clutching at it blindly, she tried to call out-- -at the same time the lights went off entirely, and panic levels rose to new heights.  
  
"Mommy! Mommy, help!"  
  
"Sota-kun! Mommy's coming---Sota!"  
  
"I can't see!"  
  
"Oh God, please, no!"  
  
"I don't wanna die!"  
  
Noriko cringed as she heard one man begin to call out for his wife, only to hear the sickening sound of his skull smash into the floor as the plane jerked violently once more. Something wet splashed her face---and she knew it was blood---and she knew it wasn't her blood.  
  
Suddenly everything seemed to be happening in slow motion: the plane twisted, performing a jerky barrel roll, and Noriko suddenly felt her entire weight supported on her shoulders. Not only that, but screams of others as they fell to the ceiling as well, and the crunch of---Noriko didn't even want to know what was crunching, she just wanted to live!  
  
Even over the whirring and buzzing sounds, the screams and general chaos that was permeating from the small craft, Noriko managed one last prayer before anything else happened: 'Please... I don't want to die! There are so many people waiting for me back home... Please, God... not like this... I refuse to go out like this!'  
  
And that's when the plane took a sudden nosedive into the forest only a half mile from Kyoto. [3]  
  
*****************************************  
  
Tohma Seguchi was sitting in his home, a little after nine o' clock that night, skimming over various music reviews in his magazine---one he'd read multiple times before, judging by the small tears and marks on its pages. He wasn't particularly interested in what the articles said; it was merely something to do on a particularly boring December night at home.  
  
He paused once, wondering wether or not he should call it a night. It still seemed early, but a good night's rest was a temptation he was willing to divulge in. He stood up, carefully folding the magazine and setting it in his desk drawer. There was always time to do those things later, he decided, and stepped out into the kitchen calmly, shuffling his feet along the floor.  
  
"Tea?" Mika asked from the table, not even bothering to turn around. Tohma nodded, taking his respective seat next to her to take his mug. Or he would have, at least, had the lights suddenly not gone out and left the entire neighborhood in the dark (quite literally, really).  
  
"Power failure. Great... just what we needed," the brown-haired woman grouched, trying to remember where the candles (if any) were stored.  
  
Tohma shrugged in the darkness. "It could be worse. It could have gone out earlier, when Eiri-san and Shindo were here."  
  
"Hm... I suppose. I wonder how they're dealing with this... "  
  
"Probably not well," was Tohma's well-educated (if not semi-jealous) response. "I somehow doubt that Shindou-kun will take this well, though how Eiri reacts to him may be worse."  
  
Mika's response was only a throaty 'hm', as she was too distracted in trying to make her way over to the cabinets and search out some form of non- electric lighting. Realizing what she was doing (or perhaps only guessing), the blonde felt around for his chair, taking his seat before calling out: "Third drawer on the left."  
  
"Thanks," came the reply, and in nearly no time at all two Roman candles were burning, giving off at least some amount of light in what was otherwise total blackness. The woman's face was more than apparent in the dark, and her triumphant smile was one that Tohma had not seen in awhile. "There! Light!"  
  
Her husband shook his head and laughed. Mika took this as a good sign and decided to make with some light conversation. Knowing full well that his band had an upcoming concert, she smiled and asked him, "When is Ukai-san returning to Tokyo?"  
  
"She was supposedly taking a flight to Kyoto today," Tohma replied slowly, "but I doubt she'd attempt it in this weather. Actually, I highly doubt that anyone would attempt to travel with a storm this bad."  
  
"True, but you never know. I heard there were still people in the airports as late as eight, and you know how bad it was outside then. Not like it's let up any... " Mika added morbidly, sipping on her tea. There was nothing like a power outage to bring out the morbidly sadistic person in a person, particularly if that person was Mika Uesugi-Seguchi. Tohma---who was well aware of this---shook his head again and fiddled about with the tea pot.  
  
"Still... Flying to Kyoto? I doubt that Noriko-san's senses would drop so low."  
  
"She was flying with her family," Mika pointed out, "and you know how difficult flying with families can be."  
  
That much was true: the very thought of taking either Tatsuha or Eiri on a plane horrified Mika near to death, and the thought of her father was almost as bad. Tohma's family rarely travelled together---the last time he'd done anything of the sort was probably taking a bus with Suguru that one time. He had, however, once had to travel with all of the Uesugis--- something he rather wished he'd never done---and now had a real feel for 'family crisis on vacations'. Still, the NG president knew that Noriko could easily handle her small family---not that his wife couldn't, of course...  
  
The usual silence followed as the two took comfort in being indoors and out of the storm. It wasn't an umcomfortable quiet---actually, the two preferred it to loud, abrupt nonsense behavior that perhaps Shuichi might adore. The storm was more than enough noise to keep them occupied for now-- -and though each had suspisions as to what Eiri "Yuki" Uesugi and Shuichi Shindo were up to at the moment, neither voiced them. It would have been an uncomfortable topic, and anyway---silence was golden.  
  
Brrring, bring.  
  
Mika raised an eyebrow at the sudden ringing of the cellular phone. Her husband, too, was surprised, though not enough to comment. He sighed and lifted the phone from his coat pocket, and, in one swift moment, opened it and had it to his ear before it could ring again. "Moshi moshi?"  
  
"Moshi moshi... ah... Is this, ah, S-Seguchi-san?"  
  
Tohma raised an eyebrow at the voice on the other end. He had been expecting a frantic call from perhaps Shuichi or Sakano---maybe even Eiri--- but not a total stranger. Some new employee of NG, perhaps? The man on the other end was silent, and Tohma took this as his cue to comment: "Speaking... Is this important, Mister... ?"  
  
"G-Gensôteki, sir."  
  
"Gensôteki-san, then. Is this an important matter, or can I attend to it tomorrow?" Tohma asked coolly, not entirely ready to give up on that good night's rest. Mika only shook her head and began clearing the table of the tea set---she knew that once her husband began on the phone it was liable to take awhile to end, even if he was ready to turn in.  
  
The man on the other end yelped and mumbled a bit before asking, "Sir... ah... er... I was a-asked to call you and ask if, ah, you'd heard the news?"  
  
Tohma's voice was as calm and collected as ever. "No, I'm afraid I haven't, and at any rate, couldn't if I tried---the power is out, you see, so I can't really 'see' anything. Is it something important?" It was a stupid question to ask---it was obviously important, but if it was anything he could push off for a few more hours...  
  
"W-well, sir, th-that depends on who you, ah, ask... M-Mister Ukai-san---" (Tohma tried not to laugh at the man's grammar) "---seems to believe s-so, and, ah, er... "  
  
"Aha... So, what did Tetsuya-san say?"  
  
"No, sir, not, ah, T-Tetsuya-kun, Takashi-kun."  
  
"What's that? One moment, please." As soon as Gensôteki-san confirmed it, Tohma turned and faced his wife in the dim, flickering light of the single candle. "Mika-san?"  
  
The woman turned around in wonder. What could be so urgent as to get her opinion on it? Was it possible that her family was involved?  
  
'Oh God, not again... '  
  
Keeping her face straight, she looked to her husband and tilted her head e'er-so slightly. "Yes, Tohma-san?"  
  
His face was darker now, more serious. Mika had to wonder just what was happening---and suddenly found herself so upset that she was near to the point of nausea. Still, she somehow managed to stay upright as he began to speak once more.  
  
"Mika-san... the name of Tetsuya-san's brother. What is it?"  
  
Mika raised an eyebrow, unseen in the bleak light. "Takashi Ukai... why? Is there something wrong with him? Tohma.... "  
  
The blonde raised one hand and moved his cellular closer, indicating that he himself did not know yet. Struggling to keep from demanding information, Tohma drew in a deep breath befor replying that he was back and ready to talk again.  
  
"Th-thank you, ah, S-Seguchi-san," Gensôteki stammered, "I'm, ah, just supposed to, er, ah, ask you if you kn-knew w-which plane it was that, ah, the, um, U-Ukais were, ah... "  
  
"I take it you mean to ask me which flight Tetsuya Ukai was taking to Kyoto, is that it? I'm sorry to say that I don't know that information, Gensôteki-san, and that the only person who might would be one of Ukai- san's best friends."  
  
"F-f-f-friends, sir? And, ah, th-they can be r-reached how?"  
  
Tohma sighed sadly. This new development was not going to let him rest easily for a long time---he could feel it in his bones. Something just wasn't right about this predicament, and Tohma somehow knew that it was going to involve him and it was going to be messy.  
  
Very messy.  
  
And Tohma Seguchi didn't like messy things. Pet peeve number one on his list was complicated or messy things, be they situations, plotlines [5], or actual objects, it didn't matter: they annoyed him and he would go to any lengths to make sure they were cleaned up. And as things were looking now, there would be a lot of clean-up duty to be done before the night was over.  
  
"Er, ah, S-Seguchi-san?"  
  
"Yes, Gensôteki-san?"  
  
The man on the other end faltered and Tohma sighed. Things were not going his way today. He glanced back at Mika who shook her head, and the blonde took yet another deep breath. If Mika didn't know, then that meant...  
  
"Listen, Gensôteki-san... The only person I can think of right now that might know where to reach Ukai-san (besides the family) would be Sakuma- san, and he's not---"  
  
"P-please, S-Seguchi-san," the man on the other said quietly, "if you'll l- let me finish... "  
  
The NG president nodded. "Ah, yes, my apologies, Gensôteki-san. Please, continue."  
  
If he heard Mika laugh, he ignored it. Tohma was used to dealing with random background noises---God only knew how many times he'd attempted business over the phone with Ryuichi and Kumagoro playing in the same room-- -and, as a result, he had a strong sense of concentration. Which was a good virtue for a record company president (not unlike himself) to have. And it was situations like this that made him all the more glad that he owned such a virtue and was able to excercise it so frequently.  
  
The man on the other end coughed and yelped, and---Tohma only suspected this---dropped the paperwork he had to have been holding. He could hear the faint rustle of papers and the whining that was accustomed to one who often dropped theirs. Tohma sensed a strong resemblence to Sakano-san, but said nothing, as he did not wish to offend Gensôteki-san in any way, and he feared that comparing him to the bundle of nerves that was Bad Luck's producer would be a very bad thing indeed.  
  
"S-Seguchi-san... y-you mentioned your, ah, l-loss of power?"  
  
"Yes, we are currently in a large thunderstorm and have lost the use of our power," Tohma replied. "Is that all?"  
  
"So you, er, haven't heard about the plane, then?"  
  
Tohma's brow furrowed ever-so slightly. "No, we haven't. Care to clarify on the matter at all?"  
  
Gensôteki coughed. "It, ah, w-went down o-outside of K-Kyoto, sir... "  
  
"And... ? Are you saying that this is the reason the power is out?"  
  
"N-no, sir, but, ah... "  
  
"But what, Gensôteki-san?"  
  
"But, ah... we have r-reason to b-believe, Mister S-Seguchi-san, that, eh, U-Ukai-san was on that plane... "  
  
Nerveless fingers dropped the cell phone to the floor. Mika glanced at her husband, now truly worried. Tohma never dropped anything---he was the calmest, coolest, most-collected person Mika had ever know or probably would ever know. So him droppig the phone could only mean one thing - disaster.  
  
"Tohma... ?" she began slowly, not sure that she wanted an answer. "What's going on?"  
  
"Mika," he said softly, "there's been an accident... "  
  
*****************************************  
  
It was in that same dark mood that the members of Bad Luck, various friends, workers, and families showed up at Magic Bus Hospital that next day. Even with the power back, there was still something wrong---one could practically see it in the air. Not that they knew---none of them, save the Seguchis---knew what had happened the night before.  
  
Tohma stood at the entrance to the door, face ashen, his outfit perfectly matching the mood: black. How long he'd been there was anyone's guess--- he'd been the first to arrive at the hospital, and he'd been there when the Ukais had been brought in. It had done nothing to lift his spirits in the least---rather, he was now even worse off than before.  
  
"Tohma," his young, blonde brother-in-law began coolly, "what's all this about?" True to his self, Eiri Yuki cast a quick glare in the other blonde's direction, the impatience in his voice too thick to ignore.  
  
"Eiri... " his sister began, but Tohma shook his head slightly.  
  
"Mika, we must tell them eventually."  
  
She made a slight face. "Shouldn't we wait for Sakuma-san, though?" The famous Ryuichi Sakuma was the last to arrive, though the first called. The fact that he was one of Noriko's best friends... It made sense to Mika to wait.  
  
Tohma shook his head again, and Mika growled. She wouldn't fight him now--- if he thought he knew best---oh, but he would be sorry if Sakuma-san found out from some stranger and not his own bandmate, Mika would gladly see to that.  
  
Nervous glances were exchanged from the other guests---the infamous Crawd "K" Winchester, the sporatic Sakano-san, and all three members all of the rising pop group Bad Luck---as they tried in vain to understand the cryptic messages passed between spouses. Even Yuki raised an eyebrow, curiosity aroused, and all of them were still waiting...  
  
"Seguchi-san?" Sakano began, taking a small step towards his boss. "Are you---?"  
  
"How many of you heard about the plane crash yesterday?" Tohma interrupted, casting a sorrowful eye on his employee. "The one heading to Kyoto?"  
  
More nervous glances. "We all have, Seguchi-san," Hiroshi Nakano said calmly, uncertain of how this pertained to their meeting at the hospital. He (and the others) were also, of course, wondering about Ryuichi Sakuma and Noriko as well, though... Ryuichi was probably just late, and Noriko hadn't returned from her family vacation yet, so... What was going on?  
  
"It's only the fucking headline for every newspaper this side of Hokkaido," Eiri grumbled, leaning against the wall and folding his arms over his chest defiantly. To be honest, even he himself did not know why he'd come. Yes, Shuichi was probably the largest factor in all this, but it still did not justify Eiri's coming. Tohma had called and asked him---in his usual polite way, though much brisker than usual---to come, and---somehow---he'd ended up here.  
  
People. Who'd ever understand them?  
  
"Eiri.... " Mika growled, the anger within her rising. She had taken a lot of bull from him in the past, and---as seemed to be the Uesugi family tradition---was very quickly coming to the end of her already short fuse.  
  
Her brother shrugged her off and turned his attention away, not even bothering to look at anyone, not even his young lover, who was kneeling on the floor between Yuki and Hiro. Hiro cast a glare at Yuki, and the blonde smirked slightly, further angering the guitarist. Suguru sighed, wishing he hadn't attended at all. He did, afterall, have to study for midterms, something which everyone at NG---including his dear cousin---seemed to forget.  
  
Tohma was silent, trying once more to figure out how to phrase it in his mind. It wasn't a particularly cheerful topic, but it had to be said. He only wished know that he'd planned it more, though now he was out of time. A day late and a dollar short, wasn't that the American saying? But once again, it was too late---everyone had started in with their own opinions again.  
  
"This is stupid, get to the point already!"  
  
"Seguchi-saaaaaan.... !"  
  
"Tohma, if something's bothering you.... "  
  
"I don't understand how a plane crash cou---"  
  
Tohma interrupted them all, scowling up at them from beneath his bangs. "It's important," he hissed. "Trust me."  
  
Suguru made a face, as did the others, though they did not speak out as he did. "If it's so important, why don't you just tell us?" 'Maybe then I can get some studying done,' he thought bitterly.  
  
Tohma stood up straight, determined to keep calm. What he said, however, shocked everyone present---  
  
"Noriko Ukai was on that plane."  
  
*****************************************  
  
"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~ah! I'm laaaaaaaaaaaaaa~ate!"  
  
Various receptionists and nurses turned, both shocked and amused, to see him (Ryuichi Sakuma) running down the hall as fast as he could. Not that they knew who he was, of course, though if they looked hard enough they might have spotted the pink rabbit Kumagoro perched precariously on his head as he ran.  
  
He was, of course, on his way to that meeting Tohma had called him about. He didn't know why Tohma had picked a hospital---"They smell funny na no da!"---but that's just the way it was. If Tohma wanted to meet here, then Ryuichi would meet him there.  
  
With Kumagoro, too, of course.  
  
The brunette spun around another corner, dashing past another doctor... only to crash into Hiro, quite literally, in fact. It took a few minutes for both men to be up on their feet again, particularly since Ryuichi had nearly gone to pieces whilst apologizing. It was all that Hiro could do to keep him from bawling out-right in public, particularly since that little piece of sanity known as Noriko couldn't rush in and calm him down.  
  
"I'm sorry," Ryuichi sniffled for the umpteenth time, still seated on the floor, tears streaming down his face. "I didn't mean to, na no da, I was just trying to find Tohma, and---"  
  
He looked around in wonderment at all of the ashen faces around him. They looked funny, like those weird characters he often saw in comic books. It surprised him, though, to see so any serious faces looking down at him. Any normal man might have been ashamed, but not Ryuichi. Why care what the others thought of him as long as he was happy, right? But he was still confused.  
  
Things got even worse when the tiny door on the wall opened, and both Seguchis and Sakano came out. Ryuichi was startled to see Tohma's face so serious and depressed, and the sudden wave that washed over him... Something was wrong.  
  
Very wrong.  
  
And it was going to affect him greatly.  
  
Ryuichi popped up, cuddling Kumagoro tightly to his chest. If something was wrong, he didn't want to have to hear it alone. He dearly wished that Noriko was there, but it was silly---she was vacationing with her family, right? So she wasn't going to be back for a little while longer.  
  
"Tohma?" he whimpered, glancing around at the sympathetic faces surrounding him. Surrounding... why had they moved away, all of a sudden? And why had they made a horseshoe around him, Tohma, and the door? It was confusing. It was hurting. It was...  
  
"Ryuichi-san," the blonde said softly. "I... "  
  
It was then, when Tohma's voice faultered, that Ryuichi felt the sudden stab of panic. Something.... someone... Thoughts raced through his head, and Ryuichi sniffed.  
  
What was it... who was it... The only thoughts he could think, and none of them pleasant. It wasn't Mika-san---she was standing next to the door, and looking sad---quite unlike herself. And all three members of Bad Luck were there, and so was Shu-chan's boyfriend. Even K and Sakano were there, so who was left?  
  
"Tohma," he heard Mika say softly. "He doesn't know... "  
  
"Know what?" Ryuichi pouted, turning his attention back and forth between the married couple. When neither of them answered, he looked back, half- expecting Shuichi or Noriko to come over and explain it to him, but instead, he recieved looks of pity.  
  
"Ryuichi?" Shuichi began softly, and Ryuichi turned to face him innocently, not even saying anything about not being called 'Ryu-chan'. "Um... th- there was a plane crash yesterday, and... "  
  
"And what, Shu-chan?"  
  
The pink-haired boy flinched slightly. "And, um... " He made the simple mistake of glancing back at the door, and Ryuichi saw it. And without waiting for a response, he dove for it.  
  
He could hear them gasp, and he heard Shuichi yell out, "Ryu-chan!", but it was too late: he grabbed the doorknob in one hand and turned in, shoving his way inside.  
  
The first thing he noticed was how dark it was. The only light, it seemed, was the vague lights and lines on the various instruments and machines throughout the room. The second thing Ryuichi noticed (while biting Kumagoro's ear in anxiety) was the small bed, and on it, an even smaller form.  
  
Soft sound, like the movement of feet, and Tohma was behind him, murmuring a quiet, "She was on the plane that crashed outside of Kyoto, Ryuichi. She was one of the luckier ones---both Tetsuya and Saki-san, along with countless others, died... "  
  
"She looks like she's sleeping," the brunette replied softly, and in all seriousness. His carefree, chidlike demeanor was gone once more, o reveal that yes, he could act his age. His toy fell to the floor, forgotten for the moment.  
  
"I know," the blonde replied in a husky whisper. "But she's not. She's comatose, Ryuichi-san."  
  
"Comatose... " He repeated the foreign word, stepping closer to the bed to get a decent look at his friend. He felt Tohma's hand on his shoulder, almost comforting, help guide him over to her.  
  
The two men spent a good deal of time standing there, silent, watching in some awe as varied machines beeped and buzzed. Their friend lay quietly, wrapped in bandages and scratches. Thick bandages around her head, one over her left eye, and both arms in casts, not to mention one of her legs. All in all, she looked rather well---considering...  
  
"Tohma?"  
  
"Yes, Ryuichi?"  
  
A pause. "Will she ever wake up?"  
  
The blonde looked to the floor, finding it calming, in a twisted sense. It wasn't that he was unable to answer his bandmate---really it wasn't---it was only that saying it out loud meant that it was true, and he desperately wanted to get out of this nightmare.  
  
"No one can say," he said at last, keeping his gaze down to avoid the brunette's blue stare. "She might, but... It could take weeks, even years, or... She might never wake up at all." The last part was uttered so softly and so timidly that Ryuichi half-believed he imagined it, though he knew somewhere in his mind that he had not.  
  
"I read about this girl once, and she was sick, so she made a thousand paper birds!" the singer said excitedly, all traces of seriousness wiped from his features. "Will that help Nori?!"  
  
The blonde shook his head sadly. "Cranes, Ryuichi. Not birds, cranes."  
  
"Will they help her, Tohma-kun?" Ryuichi's eyes grew wider. "I bet they will na no da! I bet Kuma and me can do it!"  
  
Tohma watched as the man only on year younger than himself grasped hold of his toy rabbit once more, and---after giving it a reassuring cuddle--- darted outside. He was talking excitedly, though Tohma could plainly hear him asking if anyone had any paper. He shook his head, stepping outside quietly as Ryuichi zipped back in, clutching onto a small notepad for dear life.  
  
"He seems adamant about this," Mika said softly. "Do you think it's wise to let him try it? He'll be disappointed when it fails."  
  
"True," her husband agreed, glancing back inside to see said musician talking to both his rabbit and his comatose friend while still managing to fold. "But at least he's not grieving. Who knows, maybe this will work... "  
  
Mika shook her head at her husband's quirky smile. "Your pals are waiting. Don't overexert yourself, Tohma," she warned. "There's nothing you can do."  
  
"There's nothing anyone can do," Eiri interrupted, shifting away from his position at the wall. Shuichi---still seated on the floor---glanced up at him in wonder.  
  
"All you can do is fucking sit around and wait," the novelist continued, "until she either dies or wakes up."  
  
"Eiri!" Mika yelled, but Tohma shook his head.  
  
"No... He's right, Mika. All we can do is wait and hope... "  
  
Downcast, he turned and left, leaving everyone in a more than slightly stunned silence. The only sound in both the room and the hall was Ryuichi (who had begun to sing to Kumagoro about making 'folded paper birdies').  
  
Silence. And then...  
  
Click-click-click-click-click-click-SMACK!  
  
Eiri raised a hand to his face, now red and burning, and gave his older sister a very ticked-off look.  
  
"What the hell was that for, O beloved older sister?!" he spat out angrily, making everyone but his sister flinch and move away. Mika, however, continued to stand before him, glaring, her hand still outstretched from having slapped him only a moment before.  
  
"I don't care if you hate him, Eiri," she growled, "but don't you ever think you can ever talk to Tohma that way again, you self-absorbed bastard!"  
  
Before he could retaliate she turned away in a huff, and her shoes click- clacked down the hall as she tried to catch up with her down-and-out husband. Her brother glared after her, wiping his thumb over his cheek and growling.  
  
"I'm going," he snapped, leaning away from his place on the wall and stalking down the hall. Shuichi pouted, and---after giving his friends an apologetic shrug---raced after the angry blonde.  
  
Hiro shook his head as well. "He shouldn've have said that... but then again, he was right... "  
  
Suguru shrugged, all thoughts of school far from his mind. "She's lucky to be alive," he said at last. Hiro made no reply, and, instead, cast a furtive glance at the tiny window into the keyboardist's room.  
  
"Luck... It's almost ironic, isn't it? That the people with the most luck are associated with us... " The older teen gave a short laugh, shaking his head.  
  
"Stay lucky and stay strong, then, Ukai-san... who knows? Maybe a thousand cranes will help after all... "  
  
*****************************************  
  
"Kuma, does this look right?"  
  
The brown-haired man, surrenly sitting cross-legged on the tile floor, lifted his stuffed toy up in one hand, waving the paper crane around in the other. He made the toy nod, and grinned at them both.  
  
"Oh, good!" he commented brightly, before placing it on the small tray that all hospitals seemed to have in each room. "Then we're one step closer to being finished, right, na no da?"  
  
He made the toy nod once more, and grinned again. Suddenly he dropped the toy and turned to face his comatose friend one more time. He looked around sadly, before getting to his knees and scooting closer to the bedside.  
  
"I promise, Nori-chan," he whispered, voice barely above a whisper. "I'll come back every day until you get better... even if we have to wait forever."  
  
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A/N: Well? How was that for a first chapter? I'm really hoping to get a message across with this story (though what that message is remains to be seen ^^;;). I doubt any of you will ever guess where this is going, anyway. It's going to be pretty twisted... oh, but you say you knew that already? XD  
  
It's been a blast writing this, so let's see where I can take it in the next chapter, eh?  
  
---Gangsta Videl  
  
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[1] I *think* they're violet, anyway...  
  
[2] Ya know how car seat belts lock in place sometimes? Yeah. Do airplane belts do that, too? Oh well... They do now. XP  
  
[3] Let's play pretend and just *imagine* that this forest exists, ne? Unless it really does o_O I should really buy a map of Japan someday...  
  
[4] *cough*Madeupcharacter*cough*. ^^;; No one seems to know Jack Squat about the Ukai family, so I thought I'd add a few members... o.o;;  
  
[5] Random fact: Tohma would hate this story and it's uberly-complicated storyline. That is all. ^^;;  
  
*** 


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